Creating the Container for Us: How to Hold Space for Ourselves & Each Other After Student Death

Creating the Container for Us: How to Hold Space for Ourselves & Each Other After Student Death

How might we build our skills and visions for how we will come together as staff after student loss? How might we make sense of school-based loss, and how that informs who we are as administrators, educators, clinicians, and youth advocates?

When students die, we understandably and necessarily mobilize to support our surviving students, their peers, and the connected community. We tend to assume, however, that the staff doing that mobilization are ok, and/or we forget to create space to make sense of what just happened  (let alone for what happened months ago, or even years ago).

The task of creating and holding space for the adult staff in a school, system, division, or organization after a student death is one that we, as administrators, staff, and school leadership, rarely get support with. Join SCRR for a dynamic session on how to facilitate space-holding for educators after a student dies, & the role of collective rituals in processing.

Participants will learn how to organize a gathering and the ins and outs of holding space: from how to structure a gathering to how to care for yourself and others to what to do when things go awry. You’ll also have a chance to experience a space for educator communal care firsthand and to share and reflect on your own experiences of loss and life after.

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Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

 

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Hold space for educators to connect and share about what it means to teach, lead school sites or systems, and provide school services after the death of a student or alum.
  • Identify approaches that create intentional, peer-led spaces for educators to engage in conversation around their experience with death-related, school-based losses as a means towards healing.
  • Explore evidence-based research on the specific impact of engaging in rituals collectively as opposed to individually.
  • Engage in reflective practice that in itself allows you to better lead your community and team.

 

Speaker Bios:

Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, serves as the Project Director for the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project and as the School Mental Health field director for the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), in addition to many other facilitation projects. Previous roles include a national field director of a SAMHSA initiative (ReCAST) and technical assistance for the Student Mental Health Program for California’s Community Colleges, CalWORKs, and more.  With years of training and facilitating learning and community building in schools p-16, Wolf-Prusan is skilled in facilitation, human learning design, training, and coaching. Wolf-Prusan is dedicated to work focused on educator mental health, wellness, and trauma-informed approaches to education and operates through a framework in which public health, social work, and education intersect. Her research examined the impact of student death on teachers, what factors contribute to teachers building resiliency, and what supports teachers need from the school system in the event of a student homicide or other traumas. She received a BA in international relations and a BA in Spanish with a minor in Social & Ethnic Relations from the University of California, Davis; a teaching credential from Mills College; and an EdD in educational leadership from UCLA.

Oriana Idea, MA, LPCCI, PPS, is the School Mental Health Training Specialist at CARS, who approaches healing the wounds of trauma and oppression as core elements of social justice.  She has worked with young people across life course from elementary school to college, and has served as teacher-leader, school counselor, classroom educator and program director.  She is committed to generating equity within school structures and policies by focusing on evidence-based mental health techniques and institutional design.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | How to Develop and Implement School-Based Grief Support

It is imperative that schools are able to provide grief support to bereaved students to ensure that they are not significantly impacted relationally, academically, or emotionally. When adequate grief support is not provided, it can lead to long-term relationship, academic, and career functioning disruptions. School-based grief support allows schools to support their students and staff in a manner that is conducive to a learning environment. This presentation will cover the multitude of ways that schools can support their students and staff. The development of these programs will be discussed, including the presentation material for childhood bereavement training for school professionals, how to provide direct support after the loss of students or staff, and how to equip school professionals with the tools and knowledge to support their bereaved students.  How to implement a successful ongoing grief support group and one-on-one grief support sessions with students will also be discussed. This presentation will also include a demonstration of the tools and lesson plans used to aid in the discussion of grief with both students and school professionals.

members only iconThis playback is available to active NACG members only. 

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

 

Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
Instructional Level: Novice – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Develop a school-based grief support program to support bereaved students. Utilize current models as a guide, such as New Hope Center for Grief Support’s school-based grief support model.
  • Create content and presentation materials to provide childhood bereavement training for school professionals so they feel better equipped to support students.
  • Implement a grief support group within the schools to allow bereaved students to connect with one another to learn more about their emotions and reactions to grief.
  • Construct developmentally appropriate activities and lesson plans to use during support groups and one-on-one sessions with students.
  • Adapt program content and activities based on developmental stages.

 

Speaker Bio:

Jennifer Frush came on board as outreach and event coordinator in the summer of 2018. Her passion and energy helped increase New Hope’s reach and impact, leading to her taking on the position of interim and then full Executive Director in January of 2020. She participates in the National Alliance for Children’s Grief online learning and webinars and other training. Jennifer sits on the following councils: Northville Community Cares, Ascension Community Health Advisory Committee, Community Mental Health Association through St. Mary Mercy Hospital’s Let’s Continue the Conversation Committee. She collaborates with eight Wayne Western School Districts. She is a trained facilitator for The Leader in Me school programs. She developed and led training for The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Families for Marine Elementary School. Additionally, Hegira Health invited Jennifer to speak at their Focus on Zero suicide prevention conference and to moderate their celebrity panel. Like other staff and volunteers, she received Trauma Informed Training and QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Crisis Training, attended and participated several 2023 NACG Grief Conferences, recently attending the 2023 NACG Grief Conference and Training. Jennifer conducts Grief Sensitivity Training, Childhood Bereavement Training, Facilitator Training, and more serving as the Executive Director.

Laurel Neitling, BA, joined the team in July 2023 as the Circles of Hope Program Manager. She previously graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in management. She previously volunteered with New Hope as a support group facilitator. She experienced the loss of her father as a young child, and that led to a passion for helping bereaved families get the support they need. Laurel has had the privilege of watching many of our participants grow through their grief journeys, and she is grateful to work alongside such dedicated volunteers and staff members to offer grief support services to the bereaved.

 

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

We know the impact that COVID-19 has had on students’ social development, mental health, and academic progress. This experience has also significantly changed how our schools operate. Schools with high levels of grief that need support have competing priorities and limited staff capacity. This presentation will identify some of the various barriers to school-based grief programming and explore solutions to help programs rebuild their school-based grief support through engaging new school partners and re-engaging previous school partners.

members only iconThis playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

 

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Discuss the changes and challenges in administering school-based grief programs.
  • Implement strategies to engage new school partners.
  • Discuss ways to renew and steward relationships with lapsed school and community connections.

 

Speaker Bios:

Elizabeth Carson is the State Outreach Manager at Kate’s Club. She works closely with the Program Director on KC Connects, the outreach program of Kate’s Club. As State Outreach Manager, Liz works to increase awareness of Kate’s Club within the broader Atlanta community, so that Kate’s Club can meet the needs of more grieving children in the Atlanta area. She also works to develop new partnerships with schools and community organizations, as well as to further engage existing Kate’s Club partnerships. Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Liz graduated from Emory University in May 2014 with a B.S. in Anthropology and Human Biology and a master’s in social work from the University of Florida in 2022. While enrolled at Emory, Liz was student director of the Emory chapter of Camp Kesem, a national organization that provides free camps for children coping with a parent’s cancer. She is also a graduate of Emory’s Community Building and Social Change Fellowship Program, where she worked within Atlanta communities on projects pertaining to asset-based community development. These experiences have made Liz a strong believer in the importance of peer support and community engagement.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Partnering with Schools to Support Grieving Children

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and during the pandemic, OUR HOUSE had to pivot several times to meet the urgent need for grief support services in our heavily impacted community. Since 1997 we have provided school-based grief support groups in the second largest district in the nation but found ourselves needing to find new ways to do this first virtually and then when schools reopened Fall 2021 with stringent safety measures for providers coming on campus. In addition, we were tasked with finding ways to support grieving school professionals and equip them to support the students on their campuses within the scope of their roles. In this workshop we will share lessons learned building relationships with school districts, designing evidence-based curricula, supporting grieving school faculty and equipping school mental health clinicians with tools to use in school-based counseling sessions with grieving children. We will also look at the needs of volunteers leaning on staff while readjusting to the demands of providing grief support services in the pandemic and beyond.

To access documents provided by the presenters click HERE and HERE.

Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

 

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Identify two strategies to use to support school professionals
  • Identify four goals when designing curricula for use in school-based programs.
  • Identify two ways to build relationships with the schools in your area.

 

Speaker Bios:

Lauren Schneider, LCSW | Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Programs
Lauren, a nationally recognized expert on Child & Adolescent Grief, has directed the Children’s Programs for OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center for 18 years. In that role, Lauren provides training for mental health clinicians, educators, clergy, health care providers and graduate students throughout the community equipping them to work with grieving clients. Lauren is the author of “Children Grieve Too: A Handbook for Parents of Grieving Children” and contributing author of “You Can’t Do It Alone: A Widow’s Journey through Grief and Life After”. She also created “My Memory Book…for grieving children”. Lauren is an Associate Producer of “One Last Hug…and a few smooches” an Emmy award-winning HBO documentary about children’s Grief. Lauren is the recipient of the 2017 Dr. Michael Durfee Award and the 2014 H.U.G. award. In her free time Lauren enjoys playing with her grandsons, cooking and nature walks. Lauren maintains a private practice in Los Angeles specializing in grief and trauma.
Carolyn Christ, MA | Associate Clinical Coordinator of School & Children’s Programs
Carolyn is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist working with children, adolescents, and families who seek services through OUR HOUSE. She completed her undergraduate work in Psychology from Portland State University and her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, with an emphasis on Psychological Trauma Studies. Carolyn is the coordinator of the OUR HOUSE School Program and coordinates in-house children’s groups for the West LA office. She collaborates with school personnel and district officials to continue to grow the school-based grief support program and deepen school partnerships. Carolyn also maintains a small therapy practice with adult clients in West LA, and prior to joining the OUR HOUSE team, she volunteered with Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) in Portland, Oregon, supporting children and families facing medical hardship through creative arts.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Peer Deaths: Supporting Students Grieving within the context of Racial Trauma & during COVID-19

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Helping Schools Become Better Prepared to Meet the Needs of Grieving Students

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Innovative Inter-generational Answer to Reaching Grieving Students

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Grief and Bereavement in the School Setting: Empowering Students Family and Staff

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.